Means for producing air-currents.



H. M. SCHEIBE.

MEANS FOR PRODUCING AIR GURRENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-19,198.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Wren srn'rns arana" carton.

HAROLD M. SCHEIIBE, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MEANS FOR PRODUCING AIB-CUBRENTS- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD M. SCHEIBE,

a citizen of the United States, and a resi-' dent of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State-of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in" fan structureof the above indicated character which shall be provided with means for automatically maintaining, within desirable predetermined limits, a substantially constant velocity of revolution of the structure irrespective of the individual fan velocity ofrotation and ofthe angle of tilt,

without the aid of auxiliary braking devices or other similar apparatus.

Another object of my invention is to provide a rotatably mounted fan structure which shall be inexpensive, simple,.and rugged'in construction, reliable and effective in operation and neat in appearance.

Heretofore, in structures of the above indicated class, in order to compensate for the increase in fan thrust and consequent tend ency of the structure to revolve more rapidly as the individual fan speed rises or as the angle of tilt is decreased, some form of brake or other frictional device has been used, particularly the centrifugal type,.wherein the braking force is caused to vary with the eed. However, the installation and eificient maintenance of such brakesis expensive and their term of utility is limited. Accordingto my invention, I provide a rotatable fan structure from which braking devices of all forms have been eliminated.

I obtain speed control of the structure by automatically adjusting the angular displacement of the motor shafts from a radial plane through the center of the structure support, this effect being accomplished by a readjustment of parts as the various forces present duringloperation establish a condition of equilibrium.

The substantially vertical swiveling of each motor about a suitably-disposed ams 1s controlled by two opposing sets of forces.

The purposely unbalanced force of gravity- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application Med December 19, 1913. Serial No. 807,660.

on the motor body and the fan reactions tend to place each motor in the position of maxlmum turning moment for a a given amount of thrust, as will be seen from the structure hereinafter described. Opposing the forces just mentioned, are the centrifugal force of revolution and the gyroscopic force of each fan, both of which forces increase with the velocity of revolution and thus may be utilized to turn each motor to a position of less rotative force'on the fixture, thereby preventing a further change in the velocity thereof. By suitable design and proportion of the several parts em- 'bodied in my invention, I may, therefore,

cause the fan structure to automatically assume a practically constant speed.

In a device of this character, it is desirable to vary the speed and the amount of tilting of the motors without affecting the speed of revolution of the structure.

The speed of rotation of the fan blades directly affects the gyroscopic torque, which is proportional to SIN-where S is the speed of fan rotation.

I is the moment of inertia of the retatlng parts. N is the speed of revolution of the structure.

It is possible to select a certain value for the efiect of centrifugal force at the chosen value of N, in so far as turning each motor is concerned. With these values of S and N, it is obvious that the gravity torque and the gyroscopic torque on each motor must also balance, for a condition of stable operation.

This balance, however, is-disturbed when S increases unless N diminishes in like proportions, and, as hereinbefore noted,it is desired to keep N of constant value. Therefore, as S is increased, there must be a corresponding increase in the torque opposing gyroscopic action, that is to say, the gravity 4 .85 S which will make the fan reactions balance duce the horizontal component of-its shaft thrust and to increase the horizontal comfected by the fan speed and, by using the.

proper radius arm for the thrust, the consequent torque may be combined with the hori-' zontal blade torque to produce a substantially constant total, irrespectiveof the de-' gree of motor tilting. By this means, tilting may be made to have a very small efi'ect on the speed at which the structure revolves. Also, the gravity most independent of motor tilt by locating the trunnion pivots slightly above the center line of the motor.

, In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, with parts broken away, of a portion of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my, invention, F ig. 2 is a bottom plan view, with parts omitted, of the apparatus shown in Fig.1, and Fig. 3 is a view, with parts broken away, of a portion of the device shown in the other figures.

Referring to the 1 comprises a vertically-disposed standard 2, a support or multiple bracket member 3 that is adapted to rotate on the standard, a plurality of motors 4 severally mounted near the ends of the brackets,i a plurality drawing, a fan structure of fans 5 attached to shafts 6 of the motors is the center of revolution.

and a plurality of regulating devices 7 that are employed in connection therewith.

Since the form of the standard 2 and the meansfor rotatably mounting the bracket member '3 thereon are not material to my present invention, any suitable type may be employed. The bracket member 3 embodies a plurality of outwardly projecting arms 8, severally having reversely disposed hear their outer ends preferably a recess 9 on one side and a projection'lO on the opposite side that has an opening extending therethrough for receiving a preferably vertically disposed supporting pivotal member 12. A plurality of trunnions 13 of substantially- U-shape severally have one arm 14 pivotally or otherwise rotatably attached to the pivotal member 12. The motors 4 of any suitable type, are severally pivotally mounted between the arm 14 and the oppositely disposed arm 15, the pivotal line 16 being disposed a suitable distance preferably ahead of the center of gravity to unbalance the motor, for a purpose to be hereinafter specified. The motors 4 are severally mounted to normally have their axial center lines, when extended, pass on opposite sides, respectively, of the center line of the standard 2, which, it will be understood, Each pivotal member 12 is so located that the center line of the corresponding motor shaft normally passes between the member and the torque may be made 2.1-,

center of revolution. It will be noted that,

by reason of the above-indicated arrangement, a rotative couple will be" setup by the several fan-thrusts during operation. It is understood that the particular form of the motors 4 and fans 5 to which reference is herein made is not material to my mvention.

The regulating devices 7 severally comprise a suitably notched or toothed rack 17 that is secured to the bottom of the respec tive motor.4 and a suitably spring-pressed stop'or latch member 18 that is rotatably I suitable means may be employed.

Assuming the fan structure 1 to be at rest, the relative position of the parts may be described as follows: vThe action of gravity tends to draw down the rear end of each motor 4 by reason of the pivotal support thereof being ahead of the center of gravity. A-certain force is thereby exerted on the spring-pressed latch 18 by the rack Y 17 and the reaction causes the motor 4 to swing inwardly aroundthe pivotal member 12 and thus take a position wherein the perpendicular distance from the center of revolution to the projected axial line of the motor is relatively large. As the said perpendicular distance constitutes the arm of the fan thrust which, during operation, is exerted along the said axial line, it will be seen that the motors, at starting, are in a position of relatively large turning moment.

Assuming that electrical energy is supplied to the motors 4 by actuating the switch 19, the operation of the fan structure 1 is as follows: The relatively large turning moment exerted on the bracket 3 by the motors 4-at starting causes the structure 1 to rapidly attain the normal speed of revolution on the standard 2. If, for any reason, the velocity of revolution momentarily exceeds the predetermined value, the centrifugal force of revolution acts on each motor 4 to swing the same outwardly aroundthe corresponding pivotal member 12; likewise the gyroscopic force of the fans 5 acts against the force of gravity to tend to'tilt the motors 4 forward, but the reaction of the latches 18 causes the motors 4 to swing outwardly and assist the centrifu al force. By this means, the axial lines of t e. motors 4 are severally brought nearer to the center of revolution, that is, the arm of the ro- 130.

-tative couple acting on the bracket is deforth as embodying my invention may be.

made within the splrit and scope thereof,

. and I desire that only ,such'limitations shall be imposed as are indicated in the'appended claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a rotatable supporting member, of a' rotatable fan biased at rest to a predetermined position upon said member and adapted to eflect rotative movement thereof and means for employing the centrifugal force of revolution and the gyroscopic force of said fan as substantially the sole means for maintaining a predetermined velocity of revolution, irrespective of the velocity of rotation of the fan.

2. The combination with a rotatable supporting member, ofa rotatable fan disposed thereon and adapted to impart a rotative movement to said member and means for employing the centrifugal force of revolution and the gyroscopic force of said fan to automatically vary the rotative force. on said member and to thereby substantially maintain a predetermined velocity of revolution of the said supporting member.

3. The combination with a rotatable supporting member, of a rotatable fan disposed thereon and adapted to impart a rotative movement to said member and means for employing the centrifugal force of revolution and the gyroscopic force of said fan to automatically move the parts thereof into a position adapted to vary the arm of the rotative thrust on said member about the center of revolution.

4. The combination with a rotatable support, a rotatable fan and a device for rotating said fan disposed upon said support to impart a rotative movement thereto, of. a. member of substantially -U shape between the arms of which said device is pivotally supported u on an axis outside its center of gravity, an member associated with said support and normally located aside from the line from the center of rotation of the support through the center of gravity of said device. 5. The combination with a rotatable support, a rotatable-fan and a device for rotatat right angles thereto a pivotal mounting'for said projected axis of rotation of saiddevice pass between the center of revolution of said le fan and a device for rotating said fan disposed on each of said arms, said fan bein adapted to effect rotative movement of sai support, a plurality of trunnions between a rotatable sup- V the respective arms of which said devices are severally pivotally supported outside the respective centers of gravity, a plurality of pivotal mountings for said trunnions normally severally located on the same 'sidewof the center of rotation of said support as the projected axis'of thecorresponding device, a notched member secured to said device and means associated with said support for adjustably engaging'said notched member to restrainsaid devlce.

7. The combination with a rotatable supporting member, of a plurality of rotatable fans disposed thereon to impart a rotative movement to' said member, andmeans for converting the gyrosoopic tilting torque of said fans mto a turning torque substantially during operation.

8. The combination with a rotatable sup port, a plurality of rotatable fans and devices for rotating said fans disposed upon said support to impart a rotative movement thereto of a trunnion member within which each of said devices is pivotally supported, a pivotal mounting for said members, and means for converting torque of said devices within said members into a turning torque around said pivotal mounting, durmg operation.

9. The combination with a rotatable support, a rotatable fan and a device for rotating said fan disposed upon said support to impart a rotative movement thereto, of a trunnion between the arms of which said device is pivotally supported, an eccentrically disposed ivotal mounting for said trunnion, anotc ed member secured to saidassociated with device and means movably said support and adjustably engagmg said 1 .10. The combination with a rotatable support, a rotatable fan and a motor for-rotating said fan disposed uponsaid support to impart rotative movement thereto, of a trunnion between the arms of which the gyroscopic tilting pivotalniounting during 'opera notched member for converting the gyrosaid motor is pivotally supported outside its center of gravity, a plvotal mounting for said trunmon normally located on the same side of the center of rotation of said support as the projected axis of said motor, a notched member seeured to s aid maintaining it pure determined velocity: of i motor and means movably associated with revolution during operation.

said support for adjustably cengagmg said In testimony wh red, -I have hereunto notched member to restrain said motor and suhscribedmyname this first day ofiDeoem- 5 for converting the gyroscopic tilting force ber,191'3.

of said motor Within said trunnion into a w HAROLD-M. SCHEIBE" turmng forcethereon around sa1d pivotal I I e mountingto act in conjunction with the cen- Witnesses:

trifugal force of revolution of the motor to GEO; 'H. OLSON,

'10 vary the rotativeforce on said support for v FRED FRANCIS. 

